Archive for November 2nd, 2010

In my last post I presented a videotape from breathalyzer expert Stephen F. Daniels showing the falsification of monthly breath machine reports in the Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.

The following is another videotape from Mr. Daniels, depicting officers falsely signing a document verifying compliance with breath test regulations before the test of an arrested suspect. The regulation involves the requirement that the suspect must be kept under constant observation for a period of at least 20 minutes before the test is administered. This is to ensure that the suspect has not burped, belched or regurgitated — which can tremendously increase a breath test reading; it takes up to 20 minutes for the "mouth alcohol" to be dissipated.

As the video clearly shows, none of the officers signing the document (which was blank) under penalty of perjury observed the suspect for more than a few seconds, if at all. This was later confirmed by a Florida court, which stated in its ruling in favor of the accused: "The lack of candid disclosure concerns this court. The affirmation of Officer Cooper (DD9) of constant observation of the Petitioner from 5:58 am until 6:17 am is clearly not true…Officer Cooper failed to maintain observation of Petitioner and falsely states that he observed her when he did not."

It should be understood that what happened on this videotape is not an isolated instance. Cutting corners and falsifying documents in drunk driving cases is common in police agencies across the country.